To Be… a Dragon's Servant
by Delgodess
Summary: She was cold, hungry and miserable. And it was all because of that stupid Dragon. HIATUS.
1. Why Worry?

**Disclaimer: Skyrim and all its characters, places etc are the property of Bethesda. However, Adesse is mine.**

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><p>"Stupid bushes, stupid rocks, stupid <em>evil<em> roots…"Muttered the dark haired youth as she yet _again_ tripped on an unsuspecting plant.

"Honestly, it's like they are out to get me today!" Adesse ranted, picking herself up and patting the dirt, mud and gods knows what else off her bruised rump. Lifting her hand to her face, she grimaced and wiped it thoroughly on her leggings. Stretching casually to get the kinks out of her back, she looked towards where she had dropped her basket.

It was tipped over and more than half of the herbs she had collected that morning were strewn out around it. Groaning, she brought her hands to her temple before hastily bringing them down and cleaning them _again_.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy gathering herbs; quite the opposite in fact. There was nothing like breathing in the crisp morning air, smelling freshly cut flowers and feeling the wind and sun at your back. For all their harshness, the plains of Skyrim had a serenity and peace that couldn't be found anywhere else.

Adesse sighed and dropped to her knees to clean up the mess. She scowled, thinking of what had made her so distracted recently.

The Graybeards had been more forceful with their whole "Dragonborn" destiny thingy. They had even cornered her yesterday! They had forced her to listen as they went on and _on_ about her "duty" and "responsibility" to all of Skyrim, and to Ulfric Stormcloak. Their near constant nagging was starting to wear on her.

She was responsible. And she did have a sense of duty. But destiny? Yes she had killed dragons, absorbed their souls and learned to Shout. She was defiantly the Dragonborn, no doubt about it. But just thinking about what "Fate" would have her do made her stomach curl. Did they expect her to just blindly follow what "Fate" had in store for her? If your "Fate" was to jump off a cliff, would you really just jump off it? No! She made her own fate, her own destiny! Let those stuck up old wind bags gripe and moan up there on their little mountain!

Nodding resolutely to herself, Adesse stood and started off to where she last saw a patch of tundra cotton.

'After that it's off to find Camie and to go home.' she thought. Her eyes lit up just thinking about it. It was a nice, private house in Whiterun with an alchemy lab. She was content to be a recluse with just her thoughts and her potions.

She grinned.

Why worry? After all, it was a beautiful morning. The bees were humming, the birds singing, the dragon roaring… wait, dragon?

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><p><strong>Obviously, this is the first story I have ever posted. If you have any advice on how to make it better, please share it. I'm all ears.<strong>

**In Latin, ad esse means roughly(very roughly) to be.**

**I've never taken a Latin course so I don't know if it is correct or not. I wanted the main character's name to have significance to the story as well as to the title. What fun would it be if I chose a name that had no meaning?**

**One Final note: I like to write Flash Fiction. Basically, Flash Fiction is a work anywhere from 100 to 3,000 words long. The exact length is varied but the gist of it is that it's very short and often brief.**


	2. Inconceivable

It was simply inconceivable that there was a dragon right _here_, right _now_. Sure, they had a tendency to show up out of nowhere and try to Shout the Oblivion out of you, but really, does it have to be _now_?

"It's just not my day, is it?" Adesse huffed as she sprinted towards where she heard the sound.

She glanced down at herself, lamenting her decision to wear normal clothing rather than her light armor. She had only brought a dagger with her too! Albeit, a nice sharp, ebony dagger with health and shock enchantments on it, but still.

'At least I blend in.' she thought as she heard another roar.

"This way! Wait, isn't that where I left….?"

Adesse's face went pale.

" Oh, Gods! Camie!"

She vaulted over some rock outcroppings and made a mad dash for the lonely cluster of pine trees where she had left her companion. She rounded the last tree and skidded to an abrupt halt.

There, fighting with all her might was the form of her most trusted friend. Her body was covered in lacerations, burns marring her flesh and blood, dark rich blood, streamed from her body. The air reeked of copper and ash. From the looks of things, she had been fighting for awhile.

Adesse began to step forward to help when suddenly, Camie, legs shaking from excursion and blood loss, fell to the ground, took a deep shuttering breath, and died.

Adesse's basket, which she had somehow hung on to in her flight, tumbled softly from her numb fingers. She could not believe what she was seeing.

Her most trusted friend and steed, Camie, a gray mare, was dead.

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><p><strong>Camie is a spoof off the Japanese word Kami, which is often translated to mean "God" or "Deity".<strong>


	3. Red

Camie had been with her from the beginning. She was more than just a horse. She was Adesse's one comfort.

She didn't have to be the Dragonborn for Camie. She didn't have to be a Guild Master or a Stormcloak soldier.

She could be Adesse, just Adesse.

Name any place, any time and Camie would have been there. Dragons, Graybeards, Jarls, Imperials, Stormcloaks, you name it and _she was there_.

And now, she _never_ would be.

"Oh, Camie…" Adesse whispered. She heard a deep rumble and slowly directed her eyes from her dead friend, to the hulking beast behind her.

And she saw red. Red blood, red ash, and red rage.

Adesse straitened to her full height and fisted her hands stiffly at her sides. Then, with great care and deliberation, Adesse stalked right up to that dragon and slapped him in his scaly, bronze colored face.


	4. Slapped

Yes.

Slapped.

She slapped him so hard it threw his great big head clear to one side. For a moment, all was still.

Then with a lazy grace that seems inherent in all scaly creatures, he turned his head and looked Adesse strait in the eye.

Amber clashed with furious blue.

Adesse clenched her fists so hard they started to bleed. Then slowly realization dawned.

Starting to panic now, Adesse said the only thing that came to mind.

"Well, shit."


	5. Not so Safe

He came to life.

That's what it seemed like to Adesse. His once cool stare became fiery and he lifted himself up onto his hind legs as he roared his fury to the skies. She eppeed and dove out of the way of his flailing front limbs. Backpedaling now, Adesse quickly turned to run in the opposite direction.

She was no fool. Without her armor and weapons there was no way in _hell_ that she would be able to best a dragon. Especially an Elder Dragon.

Oh yeah. She had noticed that. She was trained to notice things. The small, insignificant things within the big picture. Wouldn't have made it in the Thieves Guild otherwise. But well, a dragon? That kinda thing is hard to miss.

"Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!" she shrieked as she skirted the pine trees at a break necked speed.

Head swerving frantically, she desperately looked, for any where, _anything_ that could hide her.

Nothing, zilch, nada.

Oh. That would do.

Streaking towards the rock outcroppings she had so casually avoided before, Adesse made a bee line towards the small cave like crack hidden between two boulders. The ground shook and great gusts of air nearly blew her over. She glanced back and her eyes widened. The dragon had taken to the sky and was circling above her! Her one consolation was that he couldn't see the crevice from that angle.

'Come on…almost….there!'

She leaped for the opening at the same time that he dived and scorched the ground where she was just standing. She landed awkwardly, her left ankle twisting and her right elbow smashing into the jagged rock wall.

Shuffling backwards, she reached behind her to find the back of the cave. Much to her surprise (and relief) the wall she was following curved gently to the left, creating a nice niche where she could hide. The earth shook causing dust and small rocks to fall into her eyes and on her hair. Deciding to risk it, she took a peak outside.

The dragon was nowhere to be seen.

"Whew! He's gone. Stupid dragon. Sure showed him!" Smiling smugly to herself, Adesse began to exit the cave. But something made her pause. A shift in the wind brought her the distinct smell of sulfur and ash. Looking up hesitantly, she could make out the shape of a horned head posed over the crevice opening, ready to snap _her_ head off.

He saw her and lunged forward, maw open wide, revealing long, sharp (very sharp) ivory teeth. Shrieking in surprise and terror, Adesse reeled back and scrambled back to safety. His mouth collided loudly with the cave entrance, too large to actually fit in. Growling and hissing, he clawed at the entrance. Smoke streamed from his nostrils as they flared, taking in the scent of blood now dripping from Adesse's abused hands and elbow.

"Cowardly mortal! Come out of that rat hole and face me!" he raged.

Still in shock from her near-beheading and even more bewildered that he designed to speak to her, (they usually only started screaming obscenities at her when she was about to kill them) Adesse could barely croak out her answer.

"Not on your life, Dragon!"

"Then burn wretch!"

And with that, he drew back his head, took a deep breath and Shouted fire into Adesse's not-so-safe hidey hole.


	6. Sauna

And that is how Adesse died.

Or how she thought she would die anyway.

Luckily for her the amulet she was wearing was enchanted with a fire resistant. The ward sprung up around her, giving her enough time for her scrambled brain to come up with a brilliant plan. And hopefully, she wouldn't be burned alive.

Maybe.

Meh, minor details.

She took out her dagger and started carving symbols into the rock walls around her. The fire wards would take awhile to sketch and charge with energy so she would have to compensate by casting frost traps everywhere. The idea was that as soon as the fire reached them, it would cause them to activate, there by canceling the flames.

The dragon took another deep breath and Adesse cringed.

This was it. If it didn't work she really _was_ dead.

He Shouted the fire down again and the traps sprung to life.

"It worked? It worked!" Adesse whooped.

She knew, theoretically, that it would. She just didn't account for the steam. It spread quickly, causing sweat to condense on Adesse's forehead. She blinked and then shrugged as she got back to work on her wards.

Being in a sauna was better than being fried.


	7. Murder

She could hear him out there.

Clawing at the stone boulders and snapping his jaws. Shouting and screaming insults at her and about her.

Adesse's nose wrinkled.

She couldn't remember a time when she had made someone so angry. It wasn't like he had anything to be mad about anyway. It was just a slap! It's not like his best friend got killed or anything.

She scowled.

Freaking horse murder.


	8. Pockets

With the wards almost complete, she could devote more magica to them instead of to frost trap upkeep. Now, if only she had a soul gem to power them she wouldn't have to use her dwindling supply of magica.

Wait, she did.

Rolling her eyes at her absent mindedness, (but really, given the situation, _anyone_ would be absent minded) she reached into one of her many hidden pockets.

As she placed a black soul gem on each ward and waited for them to charge, she contemplated her "magiced" pockets. They were strange. She always had them, no matter what she was (or wasn't) wearing. And she could fit _anything_ into them. She could be carrying hundreds of pounds and not even feel a thing. Couldn't see a thing ether. People were always amazed that she could carry home so much junk.

Even she was confused about it.

But hey, she wasn't going to look a horse in the mouth. (Damn dragon!) There were times though where they seemed to reach their limit. Adesse hated when that happened. She always felt like she was being crushed and could barely move. Now she instinctively tried to stay under.

Finishing up, Adesse wiped her hands off and placed the now soulless gem back in her pocket.

She blinked.

The things you think about when you are about to die.


	9. Closing In

He was _still_ there.

And the rock walls seemed to be getting closer.

She sighed, picking up one of her few remaining soul gems and using it to charge the wards _again_. Adesse was sprawled out on the dirt floor, surrounded by soul gems, most of which were nothing more than shiny rocks now. In a few hours they would be nothing more than shiny sand.

She sighed again and tilted her head to hear the dragon better.

She smirked.

He was actually quite funny. After he had finished cursing her, her name and all her posterity, he had moved on to Nords in general. Followed closely by Imperials, Redguards, Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmer, Orcs, Khajits and last but not least Argonians.

And somehow, between all his blathering, he was still able to Shout the occasional fire or frost. (Found that fact out real quick and had to add frost wards, hence the lack of soul gems.)

In all her days of adventuring, Adesse had never heard a dragon talk so much.

If you could call the ravings of a lunatic and _murder_ talking. She couldn't understand why he hadn't lost his voice from all that screaming.

Still, it was entertaining.

Kept the walls from closing in at least.

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><p><strong>Can you tell that she is still bitter about her horse?<strong>


	10. Malicious

It wasn't a noise that woke her.

It was the silence.

After hours of near constant noise from the dragon, Adesse found that she had gotten used to his endless ramblings. She stood cautiously, wincing as she put weight on her sprained ankle. She had put a slow healing spell on it earlier but it still needed more time to heal fully. She walked slowly towards the cave opening then paused to listen.

Nothing.

She was very tempted to Shout Aura Whisper to see if he was really gone. But she had promised herself never to Shout again. Adesse shuddered, thinking about the last time she had Shouted.

No.

Never again.

'Not even to save my life.' she thought gloomily.

Deciding that she was being ridiculous and that he had probably lost interest and flown off, Adesse crept as silently as she could out into the cool night air. 'It's a good thing too!' she glanced back at the fading runes, 'I'm all out of soul gems.'

It was intoxicating. After spending hours in a tiny hot cave, the fresh night air was like the breath of freedom. She snorted. The cave really must have gotten to her.

She couldn't take it.

She giggled, which quickly turned to hysterical cackling. She danced around the open field in front of the rock outcroppings, her hurt ankle giving her a little trouble. Avoiding the deep gouges cuts and rivets made in the earth by the dragon, she whirled around in excitement and elation, finally free of that _stupid_ cave and that _stupid_ dragon.

So it came as a complete surprise when she heard a gravelly, masculine chuckle.

She froze like a deer caught off guard and stared at the huge shadow looming above her. There, his limbs sprawled lazily around the crevice opening sat the dragon.

He chuckled again, eyes flashing with malicious amusement. Once again Adesse said the only thing that came to mind.

"Crap."


	11. Conceded

"Your eloquence astounds mortal." He said dryly, slowly stretching his wings before settling down again.

"Umm, yeah, I get that a lot." Adesse swallowed nervously.

"Oh, don't let my presence bother you, mortal. Please, do continue." He commented casually, eyeing her shock still form. His tail twitched before curving slowly around the bigger of the two boulders.

Adesse cleared her throat again before answering.

"Uh, it's alright, I, ah, just finished."

When she had slapped him, she hadn't realized just how large he actually was. She blamed it on her explosive temper.

"Well, then. What shall we do human? Hummm?"

He was grinning. She swore that he was. It wasn't a nice grin. She straitened and turned her body to face him fully, ready to fight or flee at a moment's notice.

"Well," she drew out, "How about we part ways and pretend that this never happened?"

Her eyes lit up hopefully at the last part. His claws flexed.

"I have a better idea." He drawled, causing her eyes to dim mournfully. He raised his head arrogantly.

"I've been watching you," she rolled her eyes. "And I find you to be resourceful, quick thinking and light on your feet. Just the type of slave I was looking for."

Adesse's jaw dropped, flabbergasted.

He continued but she paid him no mind. She couldn't wrap her head around it. It's like he expected her to feel _honored_ that he chose her has his _slave_. Like he was the Gods own gift. Like he had every right to claim her life for his own.

So, to her complete horror, her mouth ran off by its self.

"You are _the _most _conceded_ creature I have _ever_ met."


	12. Little Slave

He was above her in a flash of copper and gold. He pinned her to the ground and leaned in close. For a moment, she thought about stabbing him with her dagger. But seeing his sharp (very sharp) teeth so close to her face, she opted not to. A deep growl emanated from his chest.

"What did you say?"

Deciding that, what the hell, she was going to die anyway, she opened her mouth and let the fury from earlier take over.

"First of all, you scaly excuse for a bat, the name's Adesse. Not mortal. Not human and defiantly not wretch. Secondly,"

she glanced at his feet. That's where her herbs went.

"You destroyed my herbs! It took me _all morning_ to collect them!" She hissed.

"But most importantly: you killed my horse! Do you have _any_ idea what we had been through together? And what makes you think that I would _ever_ agree to becoming your servant, huh? HUH?"

By this point she was shouting in his face, eyes ablaze and spittle flying everywhere. He moved back and eyed her smugly.

"Feels good doesn't it?"

She sat up, looking at him oddly. That's why he was screaming for so long. Stress release. She slumped over and put her face in her hands.

"Infernal dragon. Why, _why_ do you have to be insane?" she grumbled to herself.

"While I _am_ sorry for causing your horse's death," He lifted his right foreclaw and examined the dried blood on it casually, "It couldn't be helped. It attacked _me_."

Adesse flinched, realizing that Camie had fought the dragon because she was trained to fight. She mentally slapped herself. 'Should have taught her to run away.' She thought sadly.

"Well," the dragon said, standing to his full height and stretching his wings out.

"It's time we were off." He looked into the distance, noting the rising sun.

"Wouldn't want to deal with any more foolish mortals, Eh?"

He turned back to Adesse, who was now shifting from foot to foot awkwardly, and took a step towards her. He looked her up and down.

"One is more than enough."

"W-wait!" she sputtered, putting her hands up to ward him off.

"I never said that I would come with you!"

He sighed, tipping his head to the right and staring down his snout at her anxious form.

"My dear little slave," his eyes bit sharply into hers, "You never had a choice."


	13. Falling

Adesse fell backwards as he pushed himself into the air. She struggled, trying to rise despite the wind forcing her back. He rose higher and higher before turning and flying off to the north.

"He's gone." She breathed.

Shielding her eyes she squinted to make sure. He was little more than a dot in the sky. Standing, she scratched her head. For a moment there, it almost seemed like he was serious. Adesse laughed nervously. Yeah _right_.

"Like he would actually want _you_ as a slave." She muttered thoughtfully, turning to start back home.

"I mean, dragons totally hate-WHOAH! SWEET TALOS!" She squealed, dangling from the dragons back legs.

Apparently he _was_ serious.

She panicked, flailing around wildly.

"Be still or I'll drop you!" he growled, shifting his grip so that his claws circled under her arms.

"Drop me and I swear I'll kill you!" she retorted in reply.

He looked down at her, a mischievous look in his eye. Adesse paled.

"Don't you dar-"

And then she was falling.


	14. Master

Was it just her or was the ground getting closer? Oh, yeah. She was falling from the sky.

Adesse took a deep breath.

And screamed.

And screamed.

And screa-

Hitch, cough, gasp.

Her shoulders hurt, the ground was moving by its self and she couldn't_ breathe_. She thought she was going to be sick.

"Now will you be still?" He asked innocently. Sadistic bastard. Adesse nodded vigorously.

"I can't hear you." He grunted.

"Yes." She said reluctantly.

"Master."

"What?"

His voice lowered.

"You will refer to me as your Master."

Adesse's eyes hardened.

"If you think-"

He banked, slowing down and hovering in place. Winding his neck down, he glared at her. She glared right back. His eyes devoid of emotion and hers fiery with indignation. He loosened his hold threateningly. Adesse yelped and griped his legs tightly. Biting her lip, she turned her face away.

"Yes… Master."


	15. Pity

'You know, this flying thing isn't so bad once you get used to it.' Adesse thought, watching the landscape go by. They were in the mountains which were (blessedly) clear of any storms. Thank the Gods that it was summer. She shivered. Still, even in summer the mountains were cold.

She looked up at the dragon holding her. Despite their little spat at the beginning, he was actually quite considerate. He never went too fast or too low. He kept his grip loose but firm. And he didn't talk. That was the best thing. Her eyes wandered back down to the pine trees below her.

The view from up here was great! She even saw her house awhile back! Her brow furrowed. What about her things? She only had what was on her, the rest being with Camie. Adesse slumped. Camie still needed a decent burial and at the speed they were moving at, she'd never get one. It's not like Adesse could demand her "Master" to take her back.

She rolled her eyes. The last time she had tried to talk to him he had just huffed and muttered something in Dragon Tongue that she couldn't quite catch.

Prickly bugger.

Adesse swayed her legs, fascinated with how they looked just hanging there. She wondered what he wanted with her. Besides the whole slave thingy. She snorted loudly.

'I mean, what does a dragon's slave even do? Polish gold?' Her mouth broke out in a wicked grin.

'He won't mind me taking a coin or three, would he?' She giggled evilly to herself.

The dragon looked down, slightly disturbed by the maniacal grin on Adesse's face.

Then his eyes glittered. Pity Adesse was too busy fantasying about treasure (Lovely, pretty, _shiny_ treasure.) to see his look.

And then she was falling.

_Again_.


	16. Ridiculous

"We have arrived." He declared, landing gracefully on the ledge protruding from the cliff face.

"Should have told me that before dumping me on hard snow and ice covered _rock_." Adesse muttered, voice muffled by her face's introduction to the ground.

Her hands, elbow and ankle smarted. And now her face felt raw. He did that on purpose, the jerk!

"Follow me." He said, turning to face the cliff wall.

Adesse stood, grumbling to herself. She brought her hand to her face before bringing it down. It was covered in blood. She shrugged and slowly wiped it on her already filthy leggings.

"Where are we goi-"she trailed off, realizing that the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

For a creature that was bigger than the average house, he did a damn good job at disappearing.

She turned slowly, looking in every direction.

Nope, nothing.

She inched closer to the edge of the cliff, and looked down. It was a strait drop to the bottom, hundreds of feet below. Maybe he tripped on his tail and fell off the cliff.

Adesse smirked. Now _that_ would be something to see.

"What are you doing?"

She practically leapt out of her skin. She turned wildly to face the voice, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when she spotted the dragon.

"A floating head…"she said in awe, face twisting comically.

He snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous, little slave."

Then he stepped through the sheer rock wall as if it didn't even _exist_.


	17. Illusion

It was an illusion. It _had_ to be. But it didn't _look_ like one.

Yes, illusions were famous for being, well,_ illusions_. Trick the eye, or mind, into thinking that something was (or wasn't) there.

But this was different.

Illusion spells always had a Tell. Because they weren't real, there would always be something off about them. A shimmer in the air, an image slightly skewed, the color not quite right.

Now to normal individuals, these Tells were imperceptible. But for one well versed in illusion magic, finding Tells was like finding your nose.

You just had to reach up and touch it.

Adesse, while not actually proficient at casting illusions, was an expert at finding and dismantling them. Being a thief was not all about picking locks and having nimble fingers. Any good thief knows that you need a few tricks up your sleeve.

And that was what was bothering Adesse. The rock in front of her didn't have a Tell. It looked the same as all the rock around it. Gray, intermingled with black splotches and white veins running through it.

She moved her face closer to the rock.

Fascinating.

"While watching you gawk at the surface of a mountain is quite entertaining,"

Adesse stiffened.

The dragon continued condescendingly, "It's not doing much to change my opinion of your pitiful race, human. That is to say, I still think you are all pathetic, slow witted, ignorant, cattle."

Her jaw hardened.

Though not exactly caring about what he thought about her race (She did agree with the slow witted and ignorant part, at least for Nord men) she did not like being placed in the same category as them.

She was different, damn it, and no over grown lizard was going to tell her otherwise.

She started to answer with a scathing remark about just how _different_ she was but bit her tongue at the last moment.

Adesse turned on her heel, placed her left arm on the small of her back, her right arm below her ribs, and bowed. He couldn't find out that she was the Dragonborn.

"Forgive me Master, for not striving to be above your standards. It won't happen again."

Because if he did, she stared at the ground grimly, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.


	18. Distracted

Stepping through the illusion was like stepping through a fine mist of water. Like when you stand near a waterfall and feel the moisture on your skin.

Adesse sighed longingly and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath.

It was like the smell after rain. Refreshing, clean, and _new_.

And then the sensation was gone.

It was replaced by the cold, damp, and dungy feeling of a cave. It smelled horrible too.

She squeezed her closed eyes tighter.

If the cave smelled _that_ _bad_, she didn't even want to imagine how it _looked_. Then she felt something wind around her waist and tug sharply.

Startled, her eyes opened involuntarily. When she looked down she saw the dragon's tail wrapped around her, his tail spike dangerously close to her body. He tugged harder, tightening just a little bit.

"Yes, Master?" she questioned, still eyeing his tail spike with wide eyes.

"You must stop dawdling, mortal." He growled impatiently, "I have other things to attend to and you are wasting my time with your incompetence. If I knew you were going to be this worthless I wouldn't have bothered sparing your pitiful life."

"I am sorry, Master." Adesses said automatically.

She inwardly winced.

All those years of sucking up to Jarls and nobility had really left an impression on her. She comforted herself in knowing that that would make staying in character as a "little slave" easier. Wouldn't have to worry about accidentally mentioning the "D" word, eh?

He narrowed his eyes at her before snorting and releasing her.

"Now follow me and _do not get distracted_."


	19. Stench

The cave wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

It was worse.

The smell, whatever it was and where ever it was coming from, was nauseating. And as she trailed quickly behind Mr. Grump-a-lump, ehm, excuse me, her _Master_, she couldn't help but notice how wretchedly dirty it was.

'Alright, I get that if it was his lair it would be filthy, what with the few hundreds of years of neglect, but come on! This is just absurd!' she thought, stumbling yet again on a rock.

She wasn't clumsy! She just couldn't see. At first, it was easy to see everything. They were near the cave entrance so the sunlight came in. But as they moved farther into the cave, it slowly became darker.

From what Adesse could tell, they were in a tunnel that was gradually sloping downwards. The dragon had already led her past one sharp curve and she could no longer see the light from outside. She stumbled again.

There was a sigh, (She swore she heard it!) before the dragon quietly whispered light into existence.

Now able to see, she was startled to find that there were columns lining the tunnel. Every twenty feet they would stretch up into arch on the high ceiling. Their design looked Elven, all soft curves and whirling lines, but here and there you could see subtle differences. Hard lines where there shouldn't be and strange angles.

They rounded another sharp curve and Adesse couldn't help it.

She gagged.

The stench was so powerful now it was suffocating. It smelled of rot, decay, ash and burnt flesh.

But more importantly, it smelled of _troll_.


	20. Incredulous

It was a relief, then, when the dragon said:

"I see you notice the smell. Good. But you have no need to worry of trolls. I have already dealt with them. No, what I need you for is much different."

The tunnel opened up to a large room and the ball of white light, which had been hovering above them, moved out to its center.

It illuminated the room and the many beady, glittering eyes with in it. The eyes soon disappeared and the sound of skittering feet could be heard as the room's occupants made their hasty retreats to the darker, more hidden parts of the lair.

"You…"

Adesse couldn't even say it. She was that incredulous.

"You brought me here…"

She turned to gawk at the dragon, sputtering incoherently.

"Yes, slave?"

If he had eye brows he would have raised one of them.

Taking a deep breath, Adesse finally blurted it out.

"You dragged me all the way over here because of some bloody skeevers?"


	21. Date

After informing her that _yes_, he had dragged her all the way over here because of the skeevers and _no_, they were not bloody yet because that was _her_ job, he left.

He left her.

To kill.

Some.

Bloody.

SKEEVERS!

Which is how Adesse found herself chasing the Skeever-From-Hell that Just-Wouldn't-Die and was Too-Smart-To-Be-Natural.

He was a mutant.

Or was an escapee from some insane mage's lab. (It was quite possible; you would be surprised how many insane mages were hiding out there. Gods know she'd killed enough of them.)

She sighed.

Killing the rest of the buggers wasn't that bad. You just had to corner them. It was finding them that was difficult.

After treading through skeever droppings, tripping over the half-charred remains of a troll (Which totally explains the smell.) and running after the Demon-Rat, Adesse was beat.

And she hadn't even started on the list of things the dragon had wanted to be done before he got back.

"'Clear out the rats.' He said, 'Then clean the Landing and Hallway.' He said. Sheesh, those are two floors just by themselves!" She huffed.

"_And_ he wants me to clean the Reception and Dining Chambers! Didn't even bother to tell be where they were to begin with!"

He had forbidden her from going into the Master's Chamber, saying that he wanted to "supervise" her when she was cleaning it.

"Clean out your own damn room." Adesse muttered viciously, sitting down on what had to have once been a giant fire pit.

She patted her pockets, wondering if she had put any food in there.

'This _has_ to be the Dining Chamber.' She thought absently, 'And the big room where I first saw the skeevers _must_ be the Reception Chamber.'

Her hand closed on something and she brought it out. She squealed with delight, before happily biting into her sweet roll.

"So I'll start from the bottom" she muttered, licking the crumbs off her lips, "and go to the top. Less of a mess that way."

She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, smearing skeever blood all over her face.

"But first," her stormy eyes narrowed, "That skeever's got a date with Oblivion."


	22. Domesticated

She was being bested by a rat.

A giant, ugly rat with scars all over its body and one milky white eye. And that was missing the middle tow of its back left paw. She eyed the tracks made on the _still_ filthy floor.

Yep.

Defiantly back left.

Now normally, she wouldn't have trouble with a skeever, even one as gnarly as this one. But you see, Adesse was having a problem. She was a Thief, right? Master of invisibility, sleight of hand and so forth. And that means that Thieves work well in the shadows, right?

Who was she kidding, she loved the shadows, she worshiped the shadows, hell, she was even a freakin Nightingale! Worshiper of Nocturnal!The shadows were her best friends, her buddies, her companions!

But.

She.

Couldn't.

Get.

Into.

One!

Remember that mage light the dragon summoned? Yeah, well, _apparently_ he told it to follow her around so she wouldn't trip and die.

So now she was stuck with it because she couldn't dispel it and she couldn't get away from it.

She had tried.

Repeatedly.

But it was like it was smart or something. She couldn't trick it into being stuck behind a rock or even control where it went. When she went into a room, it would float up to the center of the ceiling and stick there. Then, when she left the room it up and followed her!

The dang thing was alive!

She even thought she heard it giggling once. Maybe it wasn't a mage light. Maybe it was one of those wispy things, like in the old folk tales!

Or maybe she was just crazy.

But any way, that wasn't the point. Because of the stupidly annoyingly smart ball of light, Adesse couldn't use her well honed skills to track down and kill the also stupidly annoyingly smart skeever.

So, she was stuck.

She banged her head against the nearest rock wall.

"It's not fair!" She whined.

Her body slumped and then she hit her head on the wall again. Maybe if she hit it hard enough, she would come up with a plan.

And then it hit her! (Not the wall, idiot!)

She'd leave the skeever be for now. It wasn't doing anything and hadn't even been trying to attack her.

"Come to think of it," Adesse said thoughtfully, "All the other skeevers tried to eat my face off when they saw me. But he just ran away."

She brightened.

"Maybe he's been domesticated! I could leave food out for him and then he would love me! Or…"

She slumped back down.

"He's just waiting until I fall asleep to kill me."

She sighed gloomily and pushed the hair out of her eyes.

"I guess I could leave some food out for him…wouldn't hurt at least. If he's been domesticated then great but if not well…I was gonna kill 'em any way."

Adesse pushed herself off the ground and headed towards the Dining Chamber. She stopped at the entrance and stared out at the destruction. Trolls burnt bodies, (She'd found some more.) skeever corpses, blood and the filth of hundreds of years of neglect.

Boy did she have her work cut out for her.


	23. Stay Sharp

She grunted, and panting, tried to pull the massive troll through the Hallway and up to the Landing. Her elbows were covered with blood, guts, and other bodily fluids that she didn't even want to think about.

And now she smelled like a troll. Probably looked like one too.

Ah, what she would give for a bath!

She had started with the skeevers, their smaller size making it easy to drag two or three up at a time. And she had saved this big guy for last.

When she had come up here with the first of the skeevers, she had dropped them in awe. The entrance shimmered. It took Adesse a moment to remember that that was where the illusion was.

On closer inspection, she found that it was covered with what looked like suspended rain drops. They were clear and reflected images and light. And when she placed her hand in them, she felt the same sensation as before, when she had walked through them with the dragon.

It's a wonder she hadn't noticed them then! But she was so distracted by the dragon's presence and trying to appear like a good "little slave" that she just hadn't been paying attention.

Adesse scowled.

In the past she would have _never_ missed something like this. It practically screamed gold.

She hauled the troll to the pile of bodies near the cliff edge. She hummed with satisfaction at her work and then frowned.

As a thief, it was disgraceful. But as a Nightingale _and_ Guild Master? It was blasphemous.

Even a commoner would have seen it!

"I'm so stupid." She muttered crossly, setting the corpses a blaze.

"I can't miss anything else. Missing something means death. And I. Refuse. To. Die." She emphasized each point by making the fire hotter.

She would stay sharp.

She _would_.


	24. Cleaning

Tantrum over and beyond spent, Adesse glumly thought over resent events.

She sat down, her legs hanging over the cliff's edge and dully watched as the ash from the fire blew away in the wind.

In her line of work, she usually just had to wing things. But after discovering that she was the Dragonborn, she just couldn't work like that anymore.

So much depended on her.

So many people.

The responsibility and pressure placed on her was almost crippling.

Adesse stood up and wandered back down to the Dining Chamber. She paused, seeing the hunched figure of the Demon-Rat stuffing his face with some left over cheese she had found.

He paused as well, before cramming the rest in and scampering off.

She laughed, her dark mood lifted by the comical sight.

He looked like a rabid chipmunk with all that food stuck in his mouth.

Then she sighed.

"Stop dwelling on the past Adesse." She told herself.

Her face hardened.

"Now you have some **"**cleaning**"** to do."

And by "cleaning" Adesse meant "snooping".


	25. Wake

She stood before the room's entrance, the black mass of space beyond unusually intimidating. She had only found what she was looking for by chance; that is to say: while stumbling blindly, she ran into it.

The white ball of light had followed her everywhere within the lair, except when she would wander in this direction. So, naturally, she went where the light would not go.

But now, she wasn't too sure she should have.

Cursing quietly, Adesse rubbed her forehead and rummaged around in her pockets for something of use. The fingers of her left hand brushed a familiar shape, and huffing in annoyance, Adesse plunged her hand in deeper. Fishing the gemstone necklace out and putting it on, she brought it to her lips and whispered an incantation. Light bloomed in its center and spread quickly as Adesse held it aloft.

She gasped and stepped back in shock.

The "wall" that she had run into was actually part of a large ornate arch that extended past the light and up into the darkness of the high ceiling. The stone carvings, lased with precious metals, depicted Dov of all shapes and sizes engaged in various activities. Some seemed to be flying, others, sunbathing. But the most common theme was of Dov battling.

Their bodies twisting in the air, claws outstretched and jaws extended as they dueled. Adesse stood in awe, stunned by their terrifying beauty.

The Dovah within her stirred and she could almost feel the wind on her scales, the fire in her blood, and the sweet taste of victory on her tongue. If only she would just open her mouth and…

_**No**_.

Adesse tore her gaze from the scene before her.

The Dovah within screeched in fury, clawing at her insides, demanding the taste of blood, of battle, and the feeling of triumph that came with it.

She crouched, shaking, as her arms encircled her legs tightly.

It hissed and cursed, speaking words she didn't understand and asking for things she wouldn't, _couldn't_, give.

Adesse moaned, gritting her teeth as she waited for the power throbbing within to fade. The Dovah snarled weakly one last time before curling up to rest, dormant, but not asleep.

Why it would wake now, for some _carvings_, when it had the real thing in front of it just hours ago, was entirely beyond Adesse's mental capacity at the moment.

She stood, bracing herself against a nearby wall for support.

Dealing with the Dovah within her was just as difficult, if not harder, than fighting the real thing. It had taken her weeks to put it to sleep, and then weeks to make sure it stayed asleep.

She laughed bitterly, wincing as she did so.

She knew it was too good to be true. The _thing_ inside her never truly slept and she was a fool to forget that.

Adesse weakly tested her balance before pushing herself upright and away from the wall. Encouraged when she didn't fall, she took another step.

Her right leg buckled and she fell painfully, knees impacting sharply with the ground.

She whimpered and slowly curled into herself.

Exhausted and lacking the ability to move and think properly, Adesse fell asleep on the filthy floor by the entrance to the Dragon's chambers.


	26. Unmentionables

When she woke, it was to a cold nose in her ear and rancid breath on her face. She jolted violently away, hand curling around her dagger and eyes flying open.

The Demon-Rat was crouched inches from her nose, mouth gaping and beady black eyes watching her intently. Seeing that she was awake, it sat up and continued staring at her.

Adesse stiffened, clenching her dagger tighter and preparing for the worst.

Then the Demon-Rat did something completely unexpected.

Plopping its self back on its haunches, it raised its front right paw to its chest and _whined_.

Adesse blinked.

The Demon-Rat blinked back.

"Huh?" Adesse said intelligently.

She thought she saw it roll its eyes, but it could have just been a trick of the light. It was pretty dark in here after all.

She sat up slowly, body creaking from abuse. Adesse shook her head, eyes closing and hand reaching up to run wearily through her dirty hair. She felt a head ache coming on. Maybe she was just dreaming?

She cracked one eye open only to find the Demon-Rat in the process of grooming its unmentionables.

She flinched, horrified at the realization that the Demon-Rat was, in fact, male.

Adesse shuttered and quickly pinched herself. She knew her mind was a strange and scary place but this was just a bit too much.

It (_**he**__,_ Adesse hastily corrected herself) whined again and she jumped.

Standing casually, as if he hadn't just been licking his…himself, he turned and began scurrying away. Then looking over his shoulder, he jerked his head as if to say: "Hurry up, Stupid!" Now _that_ she knew she saw.

Still exhausted from her restless sleep and more than a little in shock, Adesse tiredly lifted herself up and followed the Demon-Rat to what she was positive would be her certain doom.

* * *

><p><strong>So here is the dealio. I had a real hard time getting back into writing fanfiction. Well, actually, writing anything. Real life and all that jazz. That's why it took so long to get this out. And FYI: After much debate and much thoughtful head banging against my desk, I've decided to change some things in my earlier chapters. Not a lot mind you, but enough that it is going to make a difference in the long run. So I would advise you to go back and read them so you don't get confused later. Another thing: Because I haven't written in awhile, I'm afraid that my writing style might have changed and that the mood might not match earlier chapters. If you notice this, please tell me and whack me on the head with a rubber mallet. As always, I appreciate your reviews and would love to get feedback, positive or negative. Can't get better if no one tells me how! Toodles!<strong>

**~Delgodess**


	27. All Because of

She had lost him. She knew that she had walked just a few yards from the Archway of Evil, and that she had followed him the entire time. And yet, he had disappeared. It was unnerving how he could do that.

She glanced about searchingly for the idiotic rat, for the first time wishing she was back home in Whiterun. She imagined her simple but comfortable bed, all laid out and ready for her to collapse on it.

Her form drooped.

She was so tired. The work of the day was nothing to laugh at and her mental battle with the _thing_ inside her had worn her to the core. Adesse wanted to sleep, not aimlessly flounder after some decrepit skeever. And she needed to find some health potions. _Now_.

She fingered her blood stained tunic. A bath would be glorious as well.

Adesse placed her hand on her belly and grimaced when it produced an angry gurgle. She sighed. Food was in order.

Adesse reached into her pockets and pulled out…nothing.

She reached in again, thinking that her fingers were just clumsy from exhaustion, but had the same result. Painfully aware of her stomachs increasingly loud grumblings, Adesse dug her hands in deeper.

Frantic now, (Because she _couldn't_ be out of food, damn it, who knew when that dragon would get back!) Adesse threw open her pockets and dumped every last thing she had on the floor. Much to her despair, the pathetic pile of items had a noticeable lack of anything edible. She shivered and hastily started shoving everything back in.

Was it just her, or had it gotten colder in here? She touched the last item, a thick wolf skin cloak, but paused when she noticed her hands. They were blue and seemed to be shaking. Correction, they _were_ shaking. She blew on them quickly and was even more startled to find that she could see her breath.

The white ball of light moved over her once more, and Adesse followed the movement with her eyes, noting how it seemed to glow rather than shine like before. She rubbed her hands together before pulling the cloak on with fumbling movements. So this was what it was like in the lair after dark.

She rose unsteadily to her feet and shuffled in the direction of the fire pit.

Forget the rat. It(he) was gone and she had no time to look for him.

She may be the Dragonborn and a Nord, but that didn't mean that she wasn't human. She could die of hyperthermia just the same as anyone else.

She staggered towards the pit and breathlessly searched beneath the ashes. Adesse had almost given up hope when her now numb fingers hit something hard and uneven. She brushed as much ash away as she could before leaning back in satisfaction.

The huge log was old and rotting, but the ash had kept it mostly in tacked. Adesse hummed a fire spell and watched as it burst to life on and around the log.

She grinned in relief and spread out near it. Her mood soon soured when something accrued to her. What if the Dragon didn't come back as quickly as she expected it to? What if it forgot about her? She moved her booted feet closer to the fire and frowned.

The fire would last a few days at most but nothing more. And then there was her food problem. She had gone without food before, but even then she was in the wilds. All she had to do was catch a rabbit or deer and this time of year there were plenty of greens for her to harvest. But here? There was nothing but stone and ash.

Well… and the Demon-Rat.

She pictured roasting him on a spit and promptly gagged. The smell of his breath alone was enough to make her question what he had been surviving on. No. Desperate times called for desperate measures, but Adesse wasn't that desperate.

Yet.

She rolled onto her back and flinched as the fabric of her filthy clothes pulled at her wounds. Covering herself with the warm cloak, Adesse closed her eyes. And as she fell into a fitful sleep, her wakening mind concluding one thing:

She was cold, hungry, and miserable. And it was all because of that stupid Dragon.


	28. Schemer

Waking up with a giant rat in your face is an unnerving and somewhat frightening experience. Waking up with a giant rat sitting on your chest, however, is another matter all together. Breathing is somewhat difficult, which makes moving even more so. All you can do is watch helplessly as the drool oozing from his mouth comes closer and closer to your face.

Adesse would have been in the same position had she not thrown said giant rat off the moment she saw her impending doom dripping slowly towards her.

Death by rat spittle.

Not in this lifetime.

Adesse sat up, struggling with the cloak that seemed intent on strangling her limbs. Finally pulling her arms free with a grunt, she quickly started the daunting task of untangling her legs, all the while shooting death glares at the smug-looking Demon-Rat.

Giving up on the cloak for the time being and diverting the full force of her glare on the not-bursting-into-flames rat, Adesse turned up her nose and grouchily asked: "And _where_, exactly, have _you_ been?"

Said rat chattered dismissively and began the long process of "cleaning" his _entire_ body. Adesse turned quickly to the fire, suddenly very interested in the swirling shapes it made.

"Stop that!" she bit out sharply, then muttering sullenly, "It's disgusting."

The Demon-Rat looked up and shrugging, scampered off. Adesse groaned. Now she would never find him. Just as Adesse had decided that maybe now would be a good time to get up, the scared skeever came back, carrying something that snagged Adesse's complete and undivided attention.

A sweet roll.

Its heavenly scent drifted towards her, making her salivate. Her eyes clouded and Adesse licked her lips as she breathed it in. Fresh, warm bread, baked to perfection, topped by a sugary glaze that's very existence should be considered a sin. This glorious culinary creation was to be treated with the upmost respect, its texture praised, taste revered, and its every bite savored.

The Demon-Rat inhaled deeply, brought the sweet roll slowly to his lips and… _shoved it in his mouth_.

Adesse blinked stupidly.

He chewed on the sweet roll loudly, and Adesse watched in horror as precious pieces of deliciousness fell messily from the skeever's mouth.

She lunged forward, overcome by the sudden urge to wring the rat's neck for his blasphemous actions. She failed miserably, cloak and legs so intertwined that it was inevitable. She fell face first, biting her tongue and splitting her lip as her head made contact with the stone floor.

Adesse sprung up, hardly dazed, and viciously ripped the cloak off. She reached for the over grown rat, only to find him fleeing for his life down the corridor.

"Aow dar yoo!" she hollered, her sore tongue and split lip making her words nearly unintelligible.

"It wats a peis o' art! Ya greedy pig!" She streaked around the corner and spotted him just as he dashed into an opening in the rock that she hadn't seen before.

"Ya soopid wat! Get bak heer ya dam schemer!" Adesse shrieked, coming to a standstill outside the wall opening.

Adesse took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, dizzy from the sudden exertion and lack of food. She took slow, calming breaths as she waited for the ground to stop moving and the red haze to leave her eyes. Now that she was in her right mind, she felt kind of guilty for coming after him like that.

She snorted. 'Freaking out over a sweet roll. Come _on_. It wasn't _that_ big a deal.' Adesse thought, rolling her eyes. Then she remembered the sight and smell of it and quickly came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, a "Big Deal."

The Skeever would pay for such insolence, whether with his life or with another sweet roll. Nodding to herself, Adesse smiled her best smile and in her most sickingly sweet voice said:

"Heer schemer, schemer, schemer!"


End file.
